Gardeners' Notes:

The first owner of my house planted these in the mid 1970s in a row along one boundary line and in a few other places. I like their natural shape and I do not prune to keep them smaller. Some of them have a diameter of 14-16 feet. They are disease free, and pretty in the fall. But they self-sow freely, and really are too big for where they were planted. Also, I never recommend a long row of identical plants, because when one dies you end up with a gap. (The original landscaper put this row of shrubs in a 30" wide bed of lavastones over plastic, which I abhor. And the overhanging branches of the shrubs totally obstruct the water from the UG sprinkler heads placed at the edge of the lavastones. I don't think much of his design and long-term planning skills.) Plant with care & caution... read more.

I grew up with one of these at the corner of my parent's house in Chicagoland. It did always stay about 6 ft high x 8 ft high and was not horribly dense as many of them get with a very dense fibrous root system. It did sucker some as many shrubs do. It had fairly good corky twigs and good fall color.

I am negative on this species because it is so over-planted and thrown into so many spots where it just does not fit. The standard large form is also thrown around so much everywhere in landscapes and is kept smaller by the most horrible shearing, making a green lump.It has escaped cultivation into the wild and is helping to ruin good ecology in the native woods.

Planted 4 Burning Bush Compacta plants 2 years ago; well spaced in front of Blue Arrow Junipers in a bed along a cement parking area. One never did leaf out. 2013 we planted another that did better than the first 3 which had very pale green leaves. Added some Ironite and all 4 seemed to green up pretty well. Now Spring 2014, they are all pale green again. They are south facing and well mulched and Oregon's springs bring plenty of water. I did read on a blog that a shortage of magnesium could be the problem. I will try some epsoms salts and a little extra nitrogen. If anyone has experience with this problem, please share. Thanks.

This cultivar is anything but compact. Just goes to show how far a good cultivar name can go to perk up sales.

'Compacta' is almost as fast-growing as the parent species and grows almost as tall and wide (12' x 12', vs 15' x 15' for the species). This isn't a plant to use in a foundation planting unless you want to commit yourself to performing an annual heavy pruning.

It also lacks the prominent corky ornamental wings on the stems that gives the species its name.

Import, trade, sale, purchase, and planting this species is illegal in my state and one other. This plant invades and impoverishes natural areas in eastern and midwestern North America. I often encounter this in wild areas, with seedlings sometimes carpeting the ground in woodlands.... read more />
Birds eat the fruit and may deposit the seeds many miles away. Your plant doesn't need to be near a wild area to spread its offspring there.

This bush has grown well in our area, but I'm not sure it provides enough benefit to live in our front yard. It is grown for its beautiful red fall foliage, but it only seems to last a week or two. Maybe it just seemed that way the past year or two. I'll try to pay better attention to it this year. Maybe it turns bright red right before our first freeze, which then causes the leaves to fall off??

I ordered two of these plants from Michigan Bulb (I know...). They arrived mid October of '09, and were planted right away.

A few leaves popped out on each plant early on, and then they seemed to drop back hard in Winter.

It is now early March in zone 9b/10 (So Central California), and I have noticed that there is very, very little action with regard to bud burst or new growth. Almost none, actually. The buds themselves are very small, and have not yet begun to swell.

Dwarf Burning Bush seem to work very well in Z5/Northern Indiana. They are quite tolerant in tough environments. In addition, each winter when snow covers the ground, rabbits take quite a liking to them, and the bounce back through the season nicely.

My husband bought two plants at Costco in late May and was very excited. That very night a moose came up to our back door and ate one half of each plant. We removed them from the yard and placed them on our deck. It has been a month and they have recovered nicely. My husband is transplanting them into the yard today. Hopefully the moose will not be back this summer.

My husband and I were fortunate enough to buy our first house with 15 dwarf burning bushes already planted in the front yard . We moved in this past April when the bushes didn't yet have any foliage on them (we are in NH). I'm embarrassed to say that my husband and I (being novice gardeners at best....we are learning more everyday though ;) had no clue what type of bush they were for the first 2 months!! I finally was able to find an old faded tag from one as I was doing some yard work. They are currently ranging from just over 2'-3.5' tall (planted in 2 rows). They are planted a few feet back from the edge of our 2.5 foot tall retaining wall. About 2/3 get a moderate amount of sun while the rest are under the canopy of our huge 3-4' wide maple tree...so only part sun at best. There is... read more a size difference and leaf color difference between the shrubs with more light and less light (the ones in partial shade have a more yellow green leaf tone and are smaller/sparser). I am thinking of transplanting the ones that are the most shaded. I rate these a positive because we have done nothing at all with them all spring or summer and they've done just fine. They have cedar/pine mulch but thats it. We had a very hard (snowy lol!!) winter last year and now a pretty dry summer (hotter than usual) and they are still going strong. I can't wait to see them this fall!!!!!

I love this plant and it is doing well except for either a rabbit or squirrel has been digging around the root area and eating the bark of the stems. So far my plant is strong and holding up but it is yet young and has been planted now for a year in my yard. I fear the squirrels, rabbits will eventually kill my plant. Would anyone have any suggestions on what to do to prevent these animals from feeding on the bark and digging to the roots?

My two dwarf burning bushes are about 4 years old and are about the same size as when I got them. Very small/slow growth. They are planted right next to my front door, in full sun and are wonderfully red in the fall.